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Lake Theatre in Oak Park turns 75

OAK PARK, IL — The seventy-fifth anniversary of the opening of the Lake Theatre will be marked by a special ceremony, theater tours, and showings of classic films each month until the end of the year. Opened in 1936 in the art deco style, the theater was acquired in 1981 by Classic Cinemas, which converted the theater over time to seven screens while retaining some of the original design elements and using some salvaged remnants of other theaters in the Chicago area.

“The investment that they have made in the theater has been very important in demonstrating the strength of downtown Oak Park,” said Village President David Pope.

April 11 marks the 75th anniversary of the Lake Theatre’s opening. They plan to celebrate with a ceremonial tearing of an oversized movie ticket by Pope, along with a birthday cake and two 75-cent screenings of the first movie ever shown at the Lake — a British romantic comedy called “The Ghost Goes West”— at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.